that process. >> quick question on the michigan right to debate. there's one democrat who said today that if this right to work initiative is signed into law, quote, there will be blood. since the president weighed in yesterday and obviously made his feelings known, and has talked about changing the tone here in washington and around the country, do you -- does the white house feel any obligation to tell fellow democrats to debate this issue but debate it in a peaceful and -- >> the president believes in, you know, debate that's civil. i haven't seen those comments and i'm not sure that they mean what some would interrupt them to be -- interpret them to be, i just haven't seen them. the president has always opposed so-called right to work laws. as he said, those laws are generally political and not economic. they're more about the right to earn less pay than they are, you know, helpful to our economy. .

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he presented his views on that issue. ? when we were asking about the chicago teacher's strike before the election, you said it was a local issue and the president has, quote, not expressed any opinion or made any assessment about this particular incidence -- incident going on in his hometown. why is this different? it's playing out in michigan, we saw in it wisconsin several months ago. i understand he was in the state of michigan but he's from chicago. why -- >> the president's position on right-to-work laws is well known he stated it before, he stated it again yesterday. the specific teacher's strike was one where he called on all sides to work together to reach a compromise in the interest of the children who had the most to lose from a prolonged strike and he welcomed the resolution of that strike. >> yesterday, we saw a memo from

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a campaign official urging the president's supporters to contact members of congress and express support for the president's view of -- proposal for resolving the fiscal cliff. does the left believe that this debate will be solved through internal negotiations between the parties or through outside pressure being brought to bear from the general public? >> well, it's our position that this is one of those issues that is very important to the american public, an issue that affects everyone, and one where it's absolutely appropriate for the president and for the -- for members of congress to engage with the public on and seek their opinions and encourage members of the public to participate by adding their voices to the debate. i think -- we were talking about this i think a week -- the week before last in anticipation of a

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trip the president was going to make and you know, to me, i think it makes all the sense in the world for leaders in washington to go out in the country and engage the american people on these incredibly important issues. we saw that this was the subject of sustained debate during the campaign and i think that reflected the assessment of both the candidates and their campaigns that this was of great interest to the american people. it remains of great interest. they have a great deal at stake. if congress fails to act, taxes go up on everyone, everyone who pays income taxes will see a tax hike. the president believes that that should not happen. that the house of representatives ought to follow the senate's lead and pass a bill that extends tax cuts for 98% of the american people because supposedly we all agree that's what should be done. so let's get it done -- as many

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republicans have now said, let's get that done and continue to debate about whether or not the top 2% should get another tax cut. we know the president's views on that, we know the public's views on that. but we ought to take care of extending those tax cuts for the middle class. so the answer again is both. we will continue to engage with leaders on capitol hill, we'll continue to engage with broader coalition of people who have a stake in this and that includes ordinary americans out in the country. >> given that today he doesn't have anything scheduled public in the days to come whereas in the past week he had something public scheduled every day. is there a change now? are things moving indoors? and there'll be less -- not the time to do something public every single day?

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>> we did travel to michigan, it was only yesterday. how come he's going out and campaigning among the question, and then the next question is, how come he stopped campaigning among the people. >> he stopped? >> no. i wouldn't expect that he will. i wouldn't expect he'll stop engaging with me american people in the manner that he has at any time during the next four-plus years. i don't have a ski jewing announcement for you but you can be sure that the approach that we're taking, which includes engaging with leaders on capitol hill and engaging with the broader public, will continue. >> i understand your wish to negotiate and have space to maneuver but one of the parties of the negotiation just finished holding forth on capitol hill and said, you people are slow walking this. are you? >> my response is, we would like

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to see some specifics. >> that's not even a yes or no. >> we're not going to characterize the internal pr process here. the phone calls or conversations or the meetings. >> but this is a specific conversation. >> i said that in response to the inaccurate suggestion that we haven't put forward spending cuts, i pointed out that we have and i pointed out that republicans have thus far not proposed a single specific savings through revenue and we would welcome it if they did. rog her >> republicans are saying that the budget plans remain deadlocks and the negotiators have taken different positions than the president did when he spoke to mr. boehner on the ninth. different position they vary on revenue as well as the amount of spending cuts. >> i'm not going to comment on internal conversations the

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president had, meetings the president had, meetings and conversations the -- with the president's -- that the president's team have had. it doesn't help the process. speculation about what was said and spin about what it means does not in my view, or our view, help the process move forward. you know, we hope and remain optimistic about the possibility of an agreement being reached and that is why we are taking the approach we're taking. >> to follow up on what jim and jake were asking, that billion dollar item in the september 19 proposal, that's how off the -- that's now off the table, you said, it's changed a little bit. >> there are some changes to our views on that but it is not -- it does not represent a sizable portion of the overall savings put forward in the proposal and again we're committed to achieving that level of savings.

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>> $100 billion was about 1/3 of the health savings. >> i'm saying the issue here, the changes we would make, do not represent a third they represent a much smaller portion. i'll have to get you more -- i'll have to see if we have more specifics for you. the point i'm making is that the president has put forward spending cuts and will continue to do that in discussions if we get to a point where there's an acceptance and acknowledgment of the fact that as part of this, rates have to go up on the top 2%, revenue has to be for a big deal on the order that we've been talking about, and that everybody who has looked at this has been talking about, and you know, we will not -- there's no deal that envisions -- there's no deal available that will see the tax cuts of the bush era for the wealthiest americans

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extended. and there's -- it's simply not acceptable to have a deal where all these specific burdens are placed on the middle class and seniors and others on the one hand and then there's some vague promise that tax reform will produce savings from wealthy americans sometime in the future without any specifics. that can't be how it works. >> how do you explain this enormous disconnect that you say the president has put forward spending cuts and yet today speaker boehner and senator mcconnel say no, you haven't. there's no leadership on that they haven't gotten any -- isn't that something you need to address? >> i have. i think i made -- >> pages 17 through 45. >> i'm making it clear that the assertion is incorrect. we all know it is because we have access to the computer. i don't have any more hard

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copies for you but i can give you the link. and having said that, i also acknowledge, as the president has, that in seeking a broader compromise, we understand that not every detail of his proposal will make it into the final product and there will be tough choices he'll have to make as part of that. and we recognize that republicans might have different spending cuts that they would prefer over the ones the president has put forward. they might and i think are probably likely to suggest there should be more, greater spending cuts than the president has put forward. we acknowledge all of that but on the question of whether or not we have put forward specific spending cuts, the answer is we have, and not only that we signed into law $1 trillion in specific spending cuts, if you combine what's signed into law with what we proposed versus the

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total absence of any specificity from republicans for a single dollar in revenue and i think in the battle of specificity, the outcome has been decided. we're looking for, you know, more concrete specifics from them. i understand this is a new negotiation. and you know, we continue to be optimistic that -- or hopeful, that we can reach a deal. >> do you understand why the republican leaders might say they didn't receive any when you say they have? >> mark, can we just end the charade here that we say they have. >> we didn't go to the floor of the senate and the house -- >> it's not that we say one thing and it might be true or they say one thing and it might be true. this is a real document here with pages and tables and numbers. now i understand they may not agree with all of it but it exists and it was put forward. and the president understands that there's more to this process than just his proposal

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but it has -- it contains specificity and detail and it is certainly -- it certainly represents his willingness to enact further spending cuts, to achieve savings through our health care entitlement programs as well as other entitlements and it represents his belief about how we can achieve the kind of revenue that's necessary for a balanced package in a way that ensures that we don't put all the burden for long-term deficit reduction on seniors and the middle class or other vulnerable communities. >> can you explain to us which group is your largest supporter and which groups you won't and what your reasoning is? >> tomorrow, depp ste -- deputy secretary of state burns will attend the friends of syrian people meeting in morocco. we'll do all we can to broaden support of the syrian coalition

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and work with like-minded countries to bring this crisis to an end. we're pleased with their continued efforts to organize, corm technical -- form technical committees and take concrete steps to form a union fid, just, democratic future for syria. these are in line with what we and our international partners would result from the formation of the commission last month. as we look at ongoing efforts to support the syrian people, let me be clear 24e678 united states stands with the syrian people in insist that can any transition process result in a peaceful, unified, democratic syria in which all citizens are protected and a future of this kind cannot inlewd al-assad. >> [inaudible] >> that's correct. we provide significant assistance to the syrian people, we proside significant, not lethal, assistance to the

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opposition. but our position on providing lethal aid has not changed. >> to foe low up -- >> i've got folks in the back. >> defense secretary suggested the syrian government has preparations of chemical weapons and the administration is not as concerned about this as they were last week, is that accurate? and what has changed? >> i'm not going to get into assessments beyond what secretary of defense pa net -- panetta said. i would simply reiterate our clear warning to the assaad regime about the potential use of or proliferation of weapons and that warning was made by the president and that warning stands. we take this very seriously and were the assaad regime to unwisely make the wrong choice here, there would be

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consequences. >> jay, the incoming and outgoing leaders on the house foreign affairs committee have written a letter calling on the president to close the p.l.o. office in washington. will he do that? >> i haven't seen the letter, i'll have to take the question. >> to clarify, the administration is looking for concrete specifics but you also say they're not discussing this sunday's meet tweeng the president and the speaker are you separating the two? are you saying it has to be brought forth by the republicans are you saying they spent the afternoon talking in generalities? >> the speaker made a public statement and i'm responding to that.

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with the fact that we have put forward specific. that answers his charge that we have not put forward specific spending cuts. we have. we understand the republicans may not agree with all of them but it is -- it's uncontestable that we have put forward a plan with spending cuts. beyond that and beyond our insistence, our public insistence that republicans accept and acknowledge that rates on top earners have to go up and accept and acknowledge that any package on the revenue side would have to include that element, you know, i'm not going to get into the sausage making or the internal discussions and deliberations. only because we hope that this process actually produces a positive result. i'm not guaranteeing that but i'm saying that this is the reason why we're not really commenting on the process, or at

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least trying not to. >> you want us to come away with the thought that the speaker came to the white house and the two men did not discuss specifics? >> i want to leave your thoughs to you and not frame them or shape them on that issue. i think i would simply say that the president met with the speaker and as part of a series of engagements with the speaker, as you know. and that the lines of communication remain open as we have said and that we hope the process moves forward. >> when is the last time -- [inaudible] >> i believe it was yesterday. >> a poll showed 76% wanted across the board spending cuts

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as part of the deal and -- which is higher, more than actually said they wanted tax increases on the rich. but also i want to ask about the timeline for spending cuts. a complaint among some conservatives in the past has been when the deals have been made, so much $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in tax increases, the cuts are always out 10 years ahead or five years ahead or something along those lines. would the white house agree to something along the lines of upfront cuts early on? >> i would make two points. the first is that when rates rise on the top 2% a subject much discussed during the campaign, the savings achieved from that would be gleaned over 10 years. it's not collected all in the first week or month or even year. this is -- all of this is about

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a period of over 10 years. boston the savings from spending cuts and the savings from revenue increases. that's one. two, the president has signed into law specific spending cuts as part of the budget control act. what we have not seen, as i've said already is any specific proposal from republicans, at least republican leaders, about how we achieve the kind of revenue targets necessary for a balanced approach. so the president's committed to achieving a package that includes all three pieces here. the discretionary spending, much of which we signed into law, the savings from entitlement programs and the savings from revenue. and looks forward to reaching a compromise with the speaker of the house and others. >> the -- will the

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administration take a public stance on the proposition eight case taken up by the supreme court on friday? on particular some of the broader questions raised by that case, including whether or not the constitution protects the rights of same-sex couples to marry? >> i appreciate the question but for comment on the court's actions on that case, i would point you to the department of justice. as you know the administration is not a party to this case and i just have nothing more for you on it. >> does the president have any reaction to the court taking up the prop 8 case? >> i have nothing more for you on that. appreciate it. >> is the president unconcerned about the outcome of the case? >> i don't have anything more for you and refer you to the department of justice. thank you all very much. >> since the white house briefing this afternoon, there's been an update on the fissical cliff story. house speaker john boehner sent the president a new fiscal cliff

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counteroffer, we'll have more on that in a minute. and a change in the house plan, the house will come in at 6:30 eastern with one vote on what's called the journal, the record of the previous day's proceedings. members will not vote today as they had planned earlier on a motion to negotiate with the senate on the bill to set defense programs and policy for next year. and as the fiscal cliff negotiations continue we spoke earlier today with a capitol hill reporter. >> what was the purpose of speaker boehner's appearance to speak about the fiscal cliff? >> you saw each major congressional player give some sort of speech but i think anything happening of consequence is happening between speaker bayne around the president and it's happening in a closely guarded, off-camera,

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way, they're actually trying to negotiate a deal and the rule of washington is when a deal is being done, people don't talk about it. when a deal is collapse, you know because they're both shouting about what the other side is doing. you saw speaker boehner and senate leader mitch mcconnel and jay carney from the white house press room, nancy pelosi, and harry reid saying we still want to see what they're willing to do before we move forward. it's the same line we've heard for a long time, we're just closer to the deadline now. >> in harry reid's comments he seemed to give an indication of a timetable. did he seem optimistic or pessimistic about getting it done? >> he seemed pessimistic, which was funny because speaker boehner said he was optimistic earlier today.

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he said there wasn't a huge likelihood of a deal before christmas but i think right now people are sort of trying to temper expectations and put patients' bill of rights on the other party. when you hear the senate majority leader saying that he doesn't think it's going to be a deal and then blaming republicans, i think that's posturing and gaining further cooperation whereas if the -- while the white house feels it has the upper hand. >> how is the white house characterizing these talks and back channel scutions between the president and speaker? >> the exact quote they keep giving over and over again is the lines of communication are open. that is, -- that is their line, that's what they're saying. to the outside world, to someone who hasn't been following this debate closely, that night not seem significant but there was a long period of time when the speaker wasn't returning the president's phone calls so they met sunday at the white house, they're talking on the phone regularly, i think these are promising signs but you don't want any of your press

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communicators, unfortunately, and maybe unfairly, talking about what's being negotiated behind the scenes buzz of the way the delicate balance of congress. is off lot of conservative republicans who are uneasy with any deal and you have people who want to make sure there aren't issues like entitlements being dealt with in a way that they're unhappy with. it's a delicate political matrix right now. was there any sense that any of the sticking points are close to being resolved? >> these sticking points have been around for years. these are the same sticking points that have tainted a number of negotiating groups, whether this is the biden group or the group that cree aed the mess we're in now.

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they're politically challenging and they're serious. i think if you see any deals that get struck before christmas it's going to be two-part. there'll be an immediate down payment to avoid what people are calling the fiscal cliff, the automatic tax increases for every american or the beginning of the 10 years automated cuts that are supposed to happen but i don't think that anything is going to happen immediately. it has to happen over the long-term chsm is an acknowledgment of how difficult the sticking points are and challenges are. >> meredith, righting for "roll call," covering the fiss -- fiscal cliff discussions on capitol hill. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> john boehner has sent president obama a counterour. a spokesman for house speaker

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boehner declined to share details of the offer but said the proposal would solve our looming debt crisis and create american jobs. we're still waiting for the white house to identify what spending cuts the white house will make and the longer the white house slow walk this is policy the close we get to fiscal cliff. we'll hear what senate leaders had to say today they spoke for 15 minutes at the capitol.

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>> it's time to see if the president is willing to make any cuts at all and whether he's willing to lead his party in making an agreement with us. the senate democrats have ruled out any spend regular duckses at all. if you look at the problem we have, it's overwhelmingly that we spend too much, we spent our time and you all have written about it because so much of the discussion has been about it, talking about increasing taxes on the top two rates. even if you did that it would provide enough money to run the government for eight days. clearly that doesn't have anything to do with getting spending in line. so it's going to be a fascinating week. i think we're out of time, we'll find out whether the president's actually willing to agree with us to cut any government spending whatsoever.

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>> some folks are forgetting that 53% of the income from the top tax rates is from small business owners. the small business owners who pay at the individual income tax rate. they hire about 25% of the entire work force in the country. so this is not an insignificant group of people. i think when the president talks about raising the top tax rate on, quote, the wealthy, people need to call him and ask him the question are you also talking about the small business folks? because if he is, then i think almost all economists would agree, as the president himself said two years ago, to raise taxes at a time when the economy wasn't performing well and it's not performing well now either, it would be a blow to the economy to do that. why? because so much of the tax rate increase would fall on these small businesses.

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so i also hope that folks will recall and not forget that when we talked about the rate increases, we're not just talking about the top marginal rates but things like the estate tax. remember the estate tax. on january 1, if we don't do anything, only $1 million is exempt and the rate goes to 55%. over half of the value of your farm or small business is going to be confiscated by the united states goth. these are things people need to think about before they just blankly toss out the phrase, well, we need to ask the wealth -- wealthy to pay a bit more. does that mean the business folks? does it moan the estate tax? >> let me come back to what the president said at his post-election press conference. his number one goal was going to be jobs and the economy. we agree with his goal. but how he's going about it

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achieving that goal is an entirely different matter. if you look at what he's doing, as jon kyl mentioned, raising taxes on small businesses, according to the joint committee on taxation, there would be nearly a million small businesses that would see their taxes go up, a million small businesses employ 25% of the work force in this country. there are private studies that say it would cost the economy $27,000 jobs, reduce tax home by by 2% if taxes go up on small businesses. is the president just obsessed with raising taxes? because that seems to be the case. when you do the arith me tech, you'll find out quickly that raising taxes, those top two rates, brings in enough revenue from the government for less than a week system of what are you going to do for the other 51 weeks of the year? the fundamental issue, the problem here is we spend too much in washington. the way you get at the end sp --

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spending issue is to reform the entitlement program so you can save and protect social security for future generations. that's where the money is. those are the areas of the budget that have to be restructured if we're going to do anything meaningful to address the fiscal crisis the country faces. perhaps more porn than all of that, the real question, where is the president? he's out on the campaign trail. you got every day we're a little closer to the fiscal cliff. every day republicans are here, speaker boehner is here, leader mcconnel is here, lead ready to negotiate, ready to deal, ready to do something that will avoid what everybody agrees would be a disaster and yet the president seems to be content with just traveling around the country doing a victory lap or something at the very time he ought to be here in washington, d.c. sitting down across tremendous table -- across the table from the people who can help us avoid what would be a very, very bad situation for our country economically. it's about jobs and the economy,

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mr. president. you said it, ewe agree with that, now let's get to work and try to fix it. >> for people who spent a lifetime spilleding a small business in a community, and small communities around the country have a dry cleaner a florist, a car wash, those small businesses will be impacted by the change in the death tax that occurs on january 1. many will not be able to continue to hold that business in the family if they have to pay 55% of every -- of everything in value over $1 million. surrounding so manufacture of these communities around the couldn't are -- country are farms and ranches in the exact same situation. for those farms and ranches that may be for three or four generations have been in the family, they survived through famine, through flood, through drought, through fire, they faced all sorts of things over the decades, and the biggest threat to them has been from the

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government. and now if you raise the death tax to 55% on everything over $1 million, and i put together a paper with the number of farms and ranches that would be impacted, of the two million farms and ranches in the country, there are only 100,000 of them with assets of over $5 million. but when you drop the number down to $1 million, over half a million farms an ranches would be impacted, many of whom will have to sell out after generations because of the government and nothing else. >> the republican leader said on the floor today that 10 years ago new york 2001, the federal government spent $1.6 trillion. 10 years later, we've managed to double that to $3.8 trillion. this is clearly a spending problem. the president over and over again said over the course of the campaign we needed a balanced approach but we very

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specific on raising taxes, no specifics on cutting spending. no specifics on the sequestration. when was the last time we heard the president talk about whr you going to do about the sequestration? i heard some discussion, if the taxes come in, we don't have to make the cuts that doesn't sound like a balanced approach. you need to have spending cuts and that's going to be part of the discussion -- that has to be part of the discussion about revenue or this is a discussion that doesn't solve the problem. heard here twice, this basically when the president gets the tax increase, and by the way, suddenly, almost all of the bush tax policies appear to be the best ol policys in the world, the 10% bracket, the marriage penalty, the child tax credit, all are things that the country has to have for everybody that the 98% of all the tax payers

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that benefited from those tax policies that we put in place in 2001 and 2003, the only thing that seems to be solving the problem is a week or so's worth of revenue and no real discussion of what you do about spending. that doesn't sound like a balanced approach to me. >> everyone knows there's a difference between governing and campaigning although the president can't seem to give up campaigning. we get it. the president won the election. the american people understand that. but now they expect him to step up and to deal responsibly to help govern the country and to deal with our country's fiscal problems. one of the best indications to me that he is unserious about solving this fiscal cliff is his demands made for additional revenue without any commitment whatsoever to use that additional revenue to either pay down the deficits or the debt or to use it to shore up social

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security and medicare. the american people expect us to deal with this responsibly and not to suffer what some have estimated would be a 10% drop in the value of the stock market if we go off the fiscal cliff. and the president needs to reconsider what this might do not only to the hundreds of thousands of americans who would be put out of work and would be unnecessarily harmed but also what it would do to his second term in office given the damage it would do to the united states economy. >> how do you respond to those who say we don't have enough time to reform the tax code before the end of the year? what specifically are you looking for from the president for an agreement to avert the fiscal cliff? >> well, i've said repeatedly and i think most of my colleagues have said as well, and i'll say again, on the

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entitlement reforms that are needed to save medicare and social security, we know what they are. doesn't require any more study. it just requires the courage to do it. tax reform obviously can't be done between now and the end of the year. i believe we have a bipartisan view that after 25 years it's time far tax reform again but that's going to take a while. what the president is trying to achieve on the top two tax rates, you know, he can get by doing nothing. the law is stacked in his favor. the point that we've all made repeatedly is that you can't solve this problem. we now have a debt the size of our economy, you can't solve america's problem. you can't leave the kind of country behind for our children and grandchildren that our parents left behind for us until you make the entitlement

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programs meet the demographics of our country. we've known that for years. when are we going to make those kinds of decisions? we tried to get the president to do it last year. we now have another opportunity here at the end of the year to try to engage that discussion again. we'll have another opportunity later when the debt ceiling issue arrives. when are we going to make this decision? that's our question. this whole discussion and admittedly the president has some advantages being one messenger, you'd think this discussion was about nothing other than raising the top two tax rates. that as we pointed out has nothing to do with solving the problem. i've been waiting for the president to become serious abo.

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so i don't know if he's going to become serious but it sounds to me like we're running out of time and we'll take our cues from the speaker as to when they're able if they're able to reach some kind of agreement. >> what are the implications -- [inaudible] >> i think i can speak for every single republican that we think that for the president to raise the debt ceiling in the future should involve a discussion with whoever the president is about what we might do about the debt. that we shouldn't treat it like a motherhood resolution. that we shouldn't airdrop it into obamacare with no votes. that the decision to raise the debt ceiling is the perfect time

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to have a discussion about the debt. and so we'll have that discussion later at whatever point the administration decides they need to have that authority. but i don't think there's going to be any sentiment whatsoever. we're giving the president perpetual authority to raise as much money from the chinese as he chooses to raise. i don't care whether a majority of senate democrats are for that or not. i'd hate, by the way, to have to defend that in a campaign. but regardless of whether the majority are for it, that isn't going to happen. we are going insist we have another discussion about the future of our country in connection with his request of taos raise the debt ceiling.

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>> [inaudible] are cru supportive of that idea? do you think the republicans have enough procedural votes to make it happen? >> we'll take a look when the request is presented, i've heard that he wants to move that soon and when he does we'll take a look at it. thanks. >> right after senate republicans finished their remarks to reporters, senate majority leader harry reid held his own briefing, that reaching a deal on the fiscal cliff before christmas would be difficult. this is 10 minutes. >> speaker boehner said he'd waiting on president obecause mo -- obama to outline the spending

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cuts. that's a strange thing for the speaker to say. president obama outlined specific cuts in his proposal to the republicans. while republicans have not offered anything specific in cuts whatsoever, and of course nothing specific in revenue whatsoever. all generalizations. the republicans want more spending cuts, tell us what you want. that's what i say to them. we can't read their minds. we're not going to make the proposal for them. republicans know perfectly well that democrats are willing to make tough choices on these issues, if in fact they understand, which i hope they do by now, that we're going to look out for the middle class first. the only thing standing in the way of an agreement is republicans. their insistence on holding tax cuts for middle class families hostage to the fiscal cliff. there's a lot of bluster coming

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from republicans but that facade is crumbling quickly. every day we read about more republicans breaking rank, calling on the speaker to allow tax rates to rise on the wealthiest. yesterday, it was carson and culver. today former governor haley barbour, here's what he said. i as a republican would take raising rates on the two top brackets if we had tax reform and some other things he wanted. but he wants the rate to go up on the top two brackets. as soon as the republicans accept reality and guarantee middle clats families their taxes won't go up, i'm confident an agreement will be reached. >> the last few years, you -- some republicans are saying that this is restricting the amendment process and part of the reason why they're -- that they are threaten -- threatening to filibuster. why have you chose ton purr suze

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those practices. >> i've explained this before. we have to spend eight to 10 days, senate days, that's a couple of weeks, to get on a bill. because they virtually oppose every time we try to get a bill. that wastes 10 days. if we didn't have to do that, we could be on a bill, there could be amendments, we arrive at a point when we don't have time to do that when you do that hundreds of times each congress. we've done it hundreds of times in the last six years. so they're crying wolf, it has no basis in fact. >> other than big ticket fiscal cliff or related items, what else do you need to get done before the conference.

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>> we need to do the supplemental, $of.4 billion. we need to do fisa, intelligence gathering apparatus. we need to do the defense authorization bill. we have to do something on spend, i hope, if the republicans move to we can get that done. we're going to work on this community banking thing now. so that covers most everything. i may have missed a thing or two but that's the general idea. christmas is two weeks from today. >> [inaudible] >> they said the support for the legislation -- >> you know this is -- everyone listen to this. we suddenly have republican votes on internet poker.

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two weeks before christmas. without being vulgar, what the hell would i put it on? that wasn't too vulgar. >> for people watching the process, cowl you describe what's possible with the fiscal cliff in the time we have left? >> we can do things very quickly. but this is not something we can do easily. it's -- at least as far as bill drafting goes. but until we hear something from the republicans, there's nothing to draft. so we can get things done quickly. i think it's going to be extremely difficult to get it done before christmas. but it could be done. there are things we have to do before the end of the year. and we're going to continue to work to get those done. i mentioned -- i outlined some of them just now. we can get it done but this has been a big stall by republicans.

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house republicans, i assume the republicans here, we're working with them in the senate, they can't decide what they're going to do. we've heard about all the infighting going on with the house leadership, i don't know how valid it is. i just got a message here that there's a battle going on between mccarthy and ryan and the majority leader in the house. and boehner. and that's the problem going on. boehner is having trouble finding help from his leadership as to what they're to do. the american people are suffering. and i repeat what claire mccaskill said. the speaker has to make an important decision. whether he's going to save his

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speakership or the country. >> how about the president's fiscal cliff plan, the white house plan, why hasn't that been put up for a vote yet in the senate? and are you planning on bringing it up for a vote? >> i'm sorry, what? >> the white house proposal that they floated around on capitol hill. >> i have no idea what you're talking about. >> the white house's plan, the treasury secretary. >> do you know what that plan is? >> the plan that includes revenue. >> what kind of revenue. >> the top 2%. >> what other revenue. >> the debt limit authority as well. i mean, there's plenty, $1.6 trillion. and the stimulus, $200 billion. leader mcconnel offered to support a vote for it in the senate. will you be doing that? >> i have to be careful what he

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offers, last one he offered, he filibustered his own bill. >> [inaudible] >> a quick note about the house before more fiscal cliff coverage. the house will come back in in a little more than 40 minutes from now at 6:30 eastern for one vote on what's being called the journal, which is the record of the previous day's proceedings. of course live coverage here on c-span. now here's a business perspective of the ongoing talks to avoid the automatic spending cuts in january from this morning's washington journal. host: we're here with our guest.

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what is business forward? guest: our job is to make it easier for people around the country who care about issues but don't have a lobbyist here in town to speak out about public policy issue. host: is this a brand new organization? who's involved? guest: we've been around about three and a half years, we're supported by some of the biggest companies in the world. we go out to small business owners, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and try to get them more involved in the policymaking process. we bring them, administration officials, members of congress. we also bring those business leaders to washington to come talk to the president's economic team to tell them how to grow jobs. >> several of those meetings have taken place. what is the business lead -- what did the business leaders say to the president? how did that come about? >> we've been doing this about a year now.

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we brought 50-plus different groups to talk to the president's economic advisor. the last eight or nine related principally to the fiscal cliff. we brought about 370 business leaders representing 32 different state the white house and the message that they're giving is pretty consistent with simpson bowles, consistent with fix the debt, consistent with how business voice is characterized in the media. they're anxious for the debt, they want certainty as quickly as possible. they tend to use simpson bowles as their frame of reference. the question is not which plan, republican plan or the democrat plan is better, it's which plan is closer to simpson boles and why? host: here's "the hill" newspaper. obama-friendly business groups given great access to the white house.

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guest: we bring business leaders from around the country to work on health care reform, immigration reform, the fiscal cliff, intellectual property protection and the business leaders are speaking for themselves. generally speaking, business leaders are centrists. they're data driven, results oriented. and they are looking for compromise in washington. state proobama group? a republican group? it's its own group. host: who are some of the names people might recognize or c.e.o.'s of which companies that have talked to the president? guest: i think the effort that the white house has made this year is much larger than i think much more effective than last year. they're bringing in more people with business forward but with a

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lot of other organizations as well. the president spoke to financial services leaders, brought in i think at least two groups of big-name c.e.o.'s. what we're talking about is business leaders from local markets. six out of 0 people who participate in business forward briefings are c.e.o.'s of smaller companies. with ego after people from fingerprint, michigan, knoxville, tp, or little rock, arkansas. we have a mixture of big companies represented but we're talking to smaller investors, smaller business owners. host: so for these members, what are their key concerns with the fiscal cliff talks? guest: so for most small business owners and senior executives at big, big companies, the fear is that going over the cliff, even on a technical term is going to cause more uncertainty, increase their borrowing cost, and it's going to put our economic recovery at

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risk. and most point to simpson bowles and understand that we have to raise revenue and we also have to control spending, they generally like the outlines of simpson bowles deal they like the principles behind it, those are pretty clear, pred spread the cost, protect the most vulnerable, don't disrupt the economic recovery, try to simplify the tax code while you're at it. they generally support those principles. >> do you think a recession could happen if we go off this fiscal cliff? guest: they do. i think there's a qualitative difference this year and last. we saw business leaders were concerned that washington wasn't going to come together with a deal and it could end badly. but it was a more muted concern. i think they trusted that washington would get it done. an given how closely -- close we came to going over the cliff last time, they'ric tag -- taking a much more active role.

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i describe it as business leaders have come to washington to require a minimum tight -- to set a minimum height standard for the ride of the fiscal cliff. they want to make sure that members of either party who are speaking out are as close to simpson bowles, talk about real cuts, real revenue. there's much more of an ownership to the process this time. >> some businesses speak about regulation. >> the way business forward works, our job is to go out and get business leaders around the country for involved. and the business leaders speak for themselves. business leaders are generally extremely influential in their home markets. thear the kind of people that can give a member of congress, moderate republican, moderate democrat, what have you, cover on really tough vote. what we've seen is those business leaders are increasingly concerned about what's going on in washington and they want to get more involved. what we also know is that technology is developing social

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media and all the rest that makes it easier for someone in boston or savannah, georgia, to have a bigger impact. what we're also seing is these issues are increasingly coming down to tough choices, tough choices that business leaders can help with. >> how do they characterize regulations? >> generally speaking, regulations rank high. you've got the large financial services companies who are concerned with dodd frank. you've also got smaller businesses concerned that big banks aren't lending. they have different views on service. host: a republican from missouri said, as washington debates the fiscal cliff on spending and taxes we should not forget the regulatory avalanche that awaits businesses in the new year. roughly 4,100 regulations are

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coming through the pipeline. not all regulations will affect small businesses, many will, however, and the compliance costs for small firms exceed that of their large competition by some 36%. guest: that -- it's difficult for a small business leader to come to the white house and talk about this. we try to put business leaders together to talk about those. on the regulatory front, the head of -- former hofede the office of regulatory affairs who recently left the white house were very aggressive about going out and meeting business leaders and looking for a new way to take input. cat's published results which -- before he left the white house which showed the rate of regulatory activity had drop and the value created by eliminating

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bad regulations or needless regulations and streamlining regulations had gone up when compared to the previous two administrations. guest: we're talking about businesses and the -- host: we're talking about bidses and the so-called fiscal cliff. we have a line set aside for business owners. we'll go to dave, a republican in cincinnati, ohio. welcome to the conversation, dave. caller: hi, dave. guest:, hi, dave, how are you. caller: is this jim doyle? host: yes, it is. caller: it's a little different than watching it on tv here. host: go ahead. guest: i'm staring at the camera, pretending it's you. caller: i feel like i hit the trifecta because all three segments this morning has to do with the fiscal cliff. my question has to do with each segment and as the host, if i could ask, the first segment if you could pose this question to

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the other two guests that you had the other two segments, my question is a lot of people have whether they're on tv or locally or in newspaper have forgotten about the 21 new taxes that are coming up january 1 relating to obamacare. i'm sorry, the health care system. and this affects all americans, not just the high owners or the poor. and my question is how does this affect the 12 taxes are going to be on the middle -- on all americans and i think nine of them are going to be initiating for businesses. how does that affect, you know, any of these negotiations and how come nobody is bringing up

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21 new taxes? i mean, to me, you know, the republicans and democrats, the democrats like to see taxes going up and the republicans don't want them to go up. host: ok. guest: i think both sides are committed to trying to stop the increase in personal taxes for small business owners, those making less than $250,000 a year. . both sides are concerned about making sure any spending cuts and taxes don't derail the economic recovery. in terms of health care costs related to the aca, while most business leaders that we have spoken to have said is they understand we needed to do

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something. small-business owners are impacted disproportionately by rising health-care costs. the current health care plans work for them less well than they do for larger companies because they don't have buying power. if you look at some of the reforms, you see a number of efforts to try to reduce costs for small businesses to, like creating exchanges, for example. small businesses in 2011 paid about 25% more for health care insurance than large companies. you are right. with the new regulations set to take effect in a couple of years, it is another reason to be careful and protect small businesses from tax increases. what the obama people will tell you is that they have cut taxes for small business 17 times and 90% of the small businesses in america would not be effected by higher individual taxes.

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host: here is "the miami herald" this morning. pennsylvania. independent caller. caller: he said it earlier when they go to washington, they try to influence a bunch of things, even immigration reform. my question is how do the ceo's of these big businesses -- what is their outlook on immigration reform, and what do they have to do with that? guest: we are working with more than 300 different officials or members of congress doing programs outside of washington, bringing people from outside washington into washington. it depends from

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city-to-city. boston business leaders are interested in health care. miami, transportation, san diego, international -- an intellectual property -- it varies from city-to-city. in terms of immigration reform, what we have seen as different sectors of the economy look at immigration differently. the high-tech community is looking at bringing in more high-skilled workers or keeping graduates in the united states to help them with challenges in computer sciences, for example, or health sciences. you have the hotel industry and the airline industry focused on trying to make sure that travel visas are administered more efficiently so we can bring in more tourists to spend more money.

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you have the industry sectors with an interest in immigration. our view is immigration reform will be a big issue in 2013 and you will see big companies across sectors working together, combining shared interests to get something done. host: here is a tweet from one of our viewers -- how does the national debt directly effect businesses, or does it? guest: the big factor to consider in all of this is borrowing costs. we work with our number of large financial services firms, and what they worry about most is what happens if the credit of the united states is diminished through a technical default. the borrowing cost for state and federal governments would rise,

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and with it the borrowing cost for businesses and that could impact the economic recovery. in terms of the debt, there are various things we have heard consistently. the do not think any movement over the cliff, where there is a slope or a cliff, whatever you want to call it, is acceptable, and they're worried about borrowing costs. host: north carolina. chris. go ahead. caller: i have had a small business for many years, and in the beginning i took -- i did not take paychecks. finally, 20 years later i met the point where i could sell it, and a mix somewhere around $185,000, and my husband makes

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about $60,000. with the selling of my business, should i be rushed because of taxes to sell it before december 31? guest: one of the challenges in dealing with small businesses from washington is there is a wide range of business owners. you are like the vast majority in terms of the amount of money that you earn each year. what you see is different members of congress and the administration coming -- struggling to come up with policies based on a broad definition of small business. the important thing about what we are trying to do is we are trying to make it easier for people like you live in north carolina who have a business to run, and it is tough to come to

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washington and ask the questions you just asked. we try to make it easy for you. we set up briefings with similarly situated business leaders, due logistics', taking notes, and that we you know the time he spent has been worthwhile. about 98% of the people that participated in our briefings were happy with what they did to take the time off of work and travel to washington. with regard to your situation, what remains to be seen is how the budget negotiations will effect individual tax rates and corporate tax rates, and a lot that remains to be seen. so, i am sorry i do not have the specific answer, but if you e-mail us at businessfwd.org, i will try to give you answers.

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host: do the members have to be democrats? guest: our market is business leaders across america who care about these issues. our job is to go out and make it as easy for them to participate directly. there was a spike in business interest in policy in 2008. one out of three were more involved than they had ever been. generally speaking they did not belong to the existing organizations. they wanted to speak for themselves.

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they hated partisanship. they were more likely to identify themselves as republican. our job is to go out to those people and we work with local chambers, universities, major employers and identify those people and bring them to washington. our members are more than 40 of the biggest companies -- -- biggest companies in the world. we did not keep track of who is a democrat or republican. a call back to phone calls. ended -- host: back to full cost. gramm, pennsylvania. go ahead. caller: my question is the subject s been absent from discussion on the fiscal cliff, sales cuts on internet

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transactions, -- sales tax and internet transactions, which have escaped sales tax in many states. is there any way the state could empower the federal government to impose a national sales tax on all internet sales and services into makeup for what has been a tremendous loss of tax revenue in the past? i think it is out of the fear of a loss of commercial tax because of the internet. what is the real possibility of solving that problem? guest: we have heard more about that issue from members of congress, governors and administration officials than from business leaders themselves, but we understand it

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is a big issue that could have a big impact on state coffers at a time when state and local coffers are hurting. we do not have a particular position on the issue. wheat board do in a normal case is if you were at one of our -- what we would do in a normal case is if you were at one of our briefings we would help you get in touch with the office in the treasury department that would be responsible for that, the office in the commerce department that takes input from business leaders like you, and again, if you e-mail us at info@businessfwd. host: from twitter, d you consider yourself a lobbyist? guest: there is lobbying defined by the irs and washington. generally speaking, people at the table speak for themselves, and not necessarily agree with one another or the

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administration. we do not take a position, and if you do not take a position, we are not lobbying. we encourage business leaders to get involved, to write to members of congress. that is technically grass-roots lobbying, and we think that is important. we think business leaders are enormously powerful advocates in their home communities, experts on the issue. when a local employer takes a position, it is news. host: also from twitter, jim doyle, were you inside -- some type of business before business forward? guest: i was a lawyer, and i

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helped companies raise money and go public. i have started and sold two businesses of my own. i also served in the commerce department for secretary bill daley during the clinton administration and got to see just how effective business leaders could be if you make it easy for them. host: also the communications team for the clinton-gore reelection team. let me find out what members say about the jobless rate. here is "the washington post." it is less than clear that the same can be said about the -- republicans have pointed to a shrinking rate.

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the president put the proposal is $50 billion more in stimulus funding. how do the ceo's in your group characterized stimulus funding? guest: it is interesting. there are a large funders, and then there are the business owners from small companies. what we have noticed in 3.5 years is that most business leaders, when they think about the stimulus they assume it was a $1 trillion investment in bridges and light rail. what they do not always know is that about one-third of it in

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terms of tax relief, was direct aid to states and support for first responders in teachers. -- and teachers. so, there is a lot of misinformation out there about the stimulus. with regard to the $50 billion in stimulus, most business leaders want to know how it will be spent. they are aware of the fact that we have to protect the recovery and that is why you see a consensus around the fact that there needs to be pain, but we should delay it. with regards to specifics about $50 billion, we do not have that right now. host: brenda, texas. go ahead. caller: i have a specific question. i am wondering how small businesses are dealing with the

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new health care law in that i work for a small business that has 52 employees, and they told us for this coming year we are ok, but when the health care law comes into effect, they have to keep full-time employees below 50 saw that it will not affect them because they cannot afford the health care law. they will make a bunch of us into part-time, and cut our hours when the law goes into effect so that they can keep the bottom line and keep making a profit. so, what i'm wondering is are you hearing a lot of them from small business? host: jim doyle? guest: we hear a lot of small businesses holding off on hiring people not just because of the implementation of the health care law, but the fear of rising health-care costs.

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if your grocery bill grew with the same rate that health-care costs have grown since 1945, we would pay $48 for a gallon of milk, and more than that for a carton of eggs. what we have seen is business leaders say their employees are efficient and production -- and productive, and rather than giving them higher salaries, they are spending more on health care. aca is implemented, it will be felt in states that have not implemented exchanges. we hear every day how much health care costs are effecting business decisions. we are trying to make sure that input from companies like yours gets to washington and washington reacts.

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host: atlanta, georgia. independent caller. caller: my first observation is i thought you said your organization predated the obama administration. guest: the reference to the word "forward" and how do you obama administration used in the campaign, but we have been named in 2009. host: he was saying before the reelection campaign. caller: the small business

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groups you represent, where their feelings about tax reform, and specifically what they support a national sales tax? i supported in gary johnson. regarding the affordable care act, will your membership consider abandoning -- providing health care or health insurance for employees and letting them deal with these exchanges in order to save money? my understanding is the affordable care act is onerous on small business. thank you. guest: . right. just to clarify, we are trying to help business leaders like you speak for yourself. we do not take positions on particular provisions. if we are doing something on the affordable care act for tax reform in general, our job is to bring as many talented business people as beacon to washington

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and have them speak for themselves -- as we can to washington to have them speak for themselves. in terms of tax reform, you are talking on something that is difficult because there is a wide range of small businesses for washington to react. is it like a small business in north carolina, where the net revenue is summer in the area of two hundred thousand dollars, or someone that owns 546 burger king franchisees? we try to bring more business -- 5 or 6 burger king franchisees. we try to bring business leaders to washington. what we notice on both sides of the fiscal cliff is that there is widespread belief among small-business owners that

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because a lot of their earnings as ordinary income as opposed to capital gains, they are disadvantaged. a lot of small business owners are skeptical of larger companies and want to make sure their interests are represented in any deal that gets struck. host: president obama in michigan said i will compromise a little bit, but when it comes to rising -- raising taxes on high-income earners, i will not. how do your members look at that? guest: we go back to simpson-bowles. it assumed that the tax cuts on the top 2% would expire. it would substantially eliminate deductions. they would get rid of the charitable tax deduction. those are all very painful

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steps, politically difficult, but they could have a significant impact on the debt. the president's approach -- let's take a step back. what we have tried to do is offer business leaders two things -- and the first is an apples-to-apples comparison. we the president put the february budget, and chairman paul ryan's march but -- budget proposal. rather than allow each party to come up with their assumptions, we took the simpson-bowles assumptions and applied them to both plans. we tried to apply a simpson-bowles-centered approach to the problem. when you compare the obama plan and the rise in budget plan, the obama plan is closer to simpson-bowles in terms of spreading the pain, protecting the most vulnerable and

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increasing revenue than the paul ryan plan is. apples-to-apples, simpson-bowles would increase tax revenue by about 4%, and the obama plan by about 3%, but the difference is the obama plan allows so -- allows for rates to rise. business leaders understand the need for more revenue. fix the dead -- when the key principles is more revenue -- , one of the key principles is more revenue. whether this support letting rates rise, or the simpson-bowles planned in getting -- and in giving away tax expenditures, it depends on the nature of their business, but they generally agree that they need new revenue and it needs to be offset with income

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reforms and that we need to get going. we cannot make it harder for ourselves by going over the cliff. host: spending needs to be on the table? guest: s, and i go back to simpson-bowles. if you look at the february budget presented by the president, and the march plan presented by chairman brian, the big driver of the difference is defense spending. when business leaders come to washington, they're more likely to defer to washington and defense issues and are much more skeptical about discretionary spending. using the numbers from a dealer and much -- march, they are about 25% less than simpson-bowles. host: new york. are you a business owner? caller: i am. i run a business for 20

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years. i wanted to mention a distinction i heard upon them talk about the other day concerning medicare. medicare is a government expenditure, but it does not drive the expense of health care. it is the health-care providers the drive the expense. it is a simple distinction, but i'm not sure that your viewers are aware of it. host: jim doyle, do you have thoughts on that? guest: it is interesting. a lot of people think the big driver for raising taxes is to make the buildings bigger, the bureaucracies bigger, but if you look at the cost-drivers it is the increasing cost of health care services in the changes of

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any team population. what we see when we talk to business leaders, particularly in markets along the border with canada or in the mexico -- market, the sea rising health-care costs as a competitive disadvantage. we saw a lot of small builders losing business to canada almost exclusively on health care cost. it is understandable that small-business owners are concerned about the aca and how well it will be implemented, but business leaders keep reminding us that their cost keeps on going up, and it is eating into employee salaries, effecting their ability to get the best talent in keep it, and affecting decisions about making people full-time hires. the business leaders we care about -- from the most are those focused on the long-term trends

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and understand we need to do something because the current health care situation works least well for small businesses. host: bob. minnesota. independent caller. caller: by an independent. i'm retired, and i am quite old, old enough to see that -- everyone that i know with -- i know has been involved in business. sometimes you are a worker, sometimes a private contractor. anybody that earns money is a business. we hire phone companies, garbage collectors, we have roads repaired. we are all business people. i am not sure why we think certain businesses are more privileged and deserve special favor from washington.

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-been retired long enough. every year i worked extra jobs and christmas, and in 1998 i worked at a big box store and they paid me $13 an hour. in 2007, they paid me $8 an hour. host: from twitter, how to determine which business leaders to speak to the administration? guest: we will answer bob put the question first. you make the point that a lot of people are in business one way or the other. there is a larger trend in smaller businesses, and people starting businesses from their own home. about 5000 new businesses are generated each year. we've seen through the recession is that those new companies have just not been created, and a lot

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of smaller companies were disproportionately effected by the recession. texas to capital, consumer demand -- access to capital, consumer demand -- this has had small businesses harder. we are focused on small business because there are more of them and they are critical to increase in jobs, but also because technology has gotten to the point where it is easier for businesses to get involved even if they do not have the washington office or a lobbyist. if you look at social media, or grass-roots campaigns to help members with tough votes, there are tools emerging that allow business leaders that have day jobs to get involved in meaningful way and we are working with them to let them use those tools. with regards to how people get invited, it varies from city-to-city, and we tend to recruit with the help of our

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founding members. if we are in san diego, and early-supporter and a founder has hosted briefings for us. if you will do something on stem education, qualified members help us identify companies from understanding of their home markets. we work with local chambers, members of congress, and we have developed a network of convenience, local business leaders better interested in participating and know how to recruit people. so far we are brought more than two thousand people to the white house this year alone representing more than 500 towns and cities, probably around 1800 companies. out of 10 our ceo's. two out of 10 are investors.

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captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]. referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal which the chair will put de novo. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it the journal stand as i proved. mr. sessions: mr. speaker. the demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays have been requested by the gentleman from georgia. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of

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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 272, the nays are 102 with three voting present. the journal stands approved.

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the speaker pro tempore: members, please take your conversations off the floor. the house will come to order.

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the house will come to order. members, please take your conversations off the floor. the speaker pro tempore: the chair is prepared to entertain one-minute requests. for what purpose does the gentlelady from florida seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. members, please take your

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conversations off the floor. the gentlelady from florida is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise here to ask for the immediate release of u.s. marine john hammer, who has been imprisoned by mexican authorities since august where for a time he was being shack willed to his bed. lance corporal hammer is an outstanding young american combat veteran who took every reasonable step to ensure that he was safely and legally transporting the anti-firearm that he inherited from his great-grandfather and he spoke with our own custom and border patrol agents who assured him he would be fine as long as he registered it with mexican authorities. once in mexico, john attempted to register his old-fashioned sears and roebuck shotgun and

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was immediately arrested as if he were a gun runner. i'm calling on our state department to act swiftly to get john released and i'm calling on our department of homeland security to explain how their agents could have given john this wrong instruction. john has suffered enough. let's bring him home to his family where he rightly belongs in time for christmas. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. garamendi: address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. garamendi: i come to the floor to celebrate california's greatest sons, the ambassador of

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jazz, dave brubeck who was born in concord, california, a city i'm proud to represent. drafted to serve in world war ii. he was later touring in jim crow south insisting on mixed raced quarter at the times. jazz is the voice of freedom. with sophistication, he would become a leader in the west coast cool jazz scene putting california on the map. dave performed before presidents, premiers and popes. he was named a master and was awarded the national medal of arts. on a personal note during the 16 years i represented stockton,

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brubeck came there to help the university of pacific and many chart yits, i yield back. without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. yesterday, december 10, marked the 60th anniversary of international human rights day. and as usual, the castro dictatorship demonstrated its brutal nampe. cuban state police violently arrested more than 100 dissidents and put another 100 to 150 under house arrest. mr. rivera: among those detained were about 80 members of the ladies in white organization, a human rights organization that peacefully seeks change in cuba -- cuba. many of them were arrested on their way to mass to celebrate at our lady of charity basilica in the eastern town. about 45 ladies in white were

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arrested in havana following their traditional march outside the santa tita church after sunday mass. 34 ladies in white were detained with violence as they tried to make their way to church. mr. speaker, once again i call on president obama, the obama administration, and the international community to denounce and condemn the terrorist castro dictatorship's human rights abuses and continue to push for democratic change on that imprisoned island nation. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the house will come to order. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to speak to the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. clarke: thank you, mr. speaker. many decades ago my father came to this country like many other

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immigrants to seek the american dream. he got a job in the auto factory. a job that exposed him to toxins that ultimately killed him. my father died when i was 8 years old. today the michigan legislature approved right to work legislation intending to roll back the clock on our labor laws. we cannot allow this to happen. right to work is wrong for workers and it must be stopped. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. poe: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: the house is not in order, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the gentleman from texas. mr. poe: mr. speaker, the last thing you want to do is to raise taxes in the middle of a recession because that would put

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businesses in a further hole. that was president obama in 2009. but that was then and this is now. president obama now says he wants to save us all by raising taxes on some americans. but the idea is flawed. one, the plan only funds the government for a few days. then what's the plan, mr. president? two, according to the senate budget committee, 735% of the new taxes will go toward spending, not deficit reduction. this plan won't work to solve our economic woes. the problem is the government just spends too much. where's the plan to cut spending? there isn't one. we got here by spending too much, not taxing too little. after all, the last thing you do in a recession is raise taxes. quoting the president. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. any further requests for one-minute speeches?

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the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leaves of absence requested for mr. culberson of texas for today and mr. reyes of texas for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the request is granted. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from ohio, mr. tiberi from ohio, is recognized as the designee of the majority leader. mr. tiberi: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous done sent -- consent that all members have the ability to revise and extend their remarks. tonight we from ohio would like to recognize and thank for their service five departing members from the ohio delegation.

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congressman steve austria, dennis kucinich, steve latourette, gene schmidt, and betty sutton will end their service with us at the end of this year. and we'd like to go the next hour, as republicans and democrats, thank them for their service. i'd first like to recognize my colleague from central ohio, congressman steve stivers, for his remarks. mr. stivers: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to thank the gentleman for yielding. and i'd like to say a few things about our five departing colleagues who have given great service to our country. i want to thank them on behalf of the people of the 15th district for their incredible service and i'd like to talk a little bit about each one of them. i'll start with congressman steve latourette whose service in congress has really been incredible and he's been a role model for many of us who are younger. he's been a great mentor and he's not afraid to stand up for what he believes in. he knows that we've got to work together as republicans and

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democrats to solve our nation's problems. and he's an illustration of what a good member of congress should be. someone who is always think being their constituents. -- thinking about their constituents. steve latourette has been a mainstay in congress and it won't be the same here without him. especially on transportation issues. and i'd like to just thank him for his support as i had a transportation bill earlier in this congress. he was very helpful. i had a plan to try to fund transportation projects differently and he sat down with me and worked me through the process and helped me sit down with the folks at the congressional budget office and helped me sit down with folks in leadership to sell my idea. that bill passed the house with bipartisan support, with 20 democrats voting for it and a lot of republicans voting for it and i know i couldn't have gotten that done without congressman latourette. i'm sorry to see him retire but he's leaving behind a legacy of

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outstanding service and he's been an incredible member of congress aid know there's great things in his future. the gentlelady to my left, congresswoman schmidt, i grew up in her district. my family lives in her district. and they really appreciate her hard work and constituent service. she's a runner. she runs marathons in her spare time but she runs her office like a marathon. she's always working for the people of her district, the second district. and it's been incredible just to watch her advocacy for important things in all of her district. we share some territory down in southern ohio now and she's been a leader on the uranium enrich ment plant in piketon and what it can do for our country, for safety in our nuclear arsenal, and for what it can do as an economic driver in southern ohio and on behalf of the people of southern and central ohio, i want to thank the gentlelady for her work on that and she's left a legacy that's really going to make a difference in the future.

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the congressman from the seventh district, congressman austria, and i served as state senators together. and he got up here a couple of years biffer did, in 2008, back when -- before i did, back in 2008, when my race was still in recount. we came up to orientation together and he showed a willingness and an interest to run in leadership for his -- for the -- with the class to be the president of the class, and i worked hard as his campaign manager and he got elected class president that year and he went on to give great service to that class in congress. he's also been a leader on the appropriations committee for these two years and i've seen him work some tough issues in the state senate. and i know he's got great things in his future. i'm certainly sorry to see him retire and i'm proud of his service and i'm happy to call him a friend and looking forward to what's next in his life and i know he's going to do great things. and also our members from the other side of the aisle,

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congresswoman sutton and congressman kucinich, have really worked hard and i appreciate all their work and efforts. dennis kucinich is a man who sticks up for his principles. i respect him for that. he's willing to stand up when nobody else in this institution will, for what he believes is right. and i really respect him for that. he's also become a good friend and he's a really nice fellow and i want to thank him for his service and wish him great luck in his future. and the congresswoman, betty sutton, i really appreciate her service. back to her time on city council and the summit county council and then the state legislature. she's advocated for her constituents and i just want to thank her for her service. i think it's important that we as republicans and democrats work together on the issues that are facing our country and i want to thank these members for their service to our country and thank them for everything that they've done for the people of

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ohio and as a grateful co-worker i want to say, job well done. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. tiberi: mr. speaker, it is indeed a privilege to recognize one of the more famous members of our delegation, because he's the speaker of the house, our leader, mr. boehner, is recognized. the speaker: let me -- i thank my colleague for yielding. and i probably represented the people of the eighth congressional district of ohio now for 22 years. and during that time our state delegation has had a long line of great leaders and great legislatures -- legislators here in the congress. tonight i want to recognize the careers and the service of our five departing members from the ohio delegation. each of which in their own way exemplify the type of leadership for which our great state has long been known. congressman kucinich has been a passionate advocate for his community.

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while we haven't always agreed, i respect his courage, his passion and his commitment to his constituents. congressman steve austria has worked tirelessly on military and veterans issues. they're so important to the region in which we both serve. steve, your efforts on behalf the air force base, the community and the people of southwest ohio, you deserve a great deal of thanks and applause for your work. congressman -- congresswoman gene schmidt was the first woman to represent her southern ohio district. she has served in this chamber with a deep commitment to her principles and her faith and i wish her the very best of luck. congressman -- congresswoman betty sutton sits on the other side of the aisle but week of always been able to disagree without being disagreeble. and -- disagreeable. and like me she served in the

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ohio house before serving the state here in the congress and respect her for her straightforward nature and willing tons fight for her priorities -- willingness to fight for her priorities and her constituents. and, finally, my friend and close colleague, steve latourette. now, steve and i have known each other for a long time. and steve, you've always done things your way. you're truly one of a kind and it really is not going to be the same around here without my good friend, steve latourette. but our friendship will continue and i'm grateful for the relationship that we've had. each of these represents focused on different issues and led in their own way. but they all have a love for ohio and an unweavering dedication to their constituents -- unwaivering dedication to their constituents. i'm honored to have worked with each of you and on behalf of the people of our bloved state, i want to thank you for your

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service -- beloved state, i want to thank you for your service. mr. tiberi: now i recognize mr. jordan. mr. jordan: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i thank him for putting this hour together where we can recognize five outstanding buckeyes for their service to their districts and to our great state. i want to start first with the two gentleladies. truly gentleladies. poised and grace and passionate. they bring to this process. i've president bushed -- appreciated that. i've appreciated betty's tireless advocacies for the families that she represents in her district, for jeannie and her unbelievable commitment to the santity of human life. i respect that and that's going to be missed around these halls. then to the two steves. steve off the that had the privilege of serve -- steve austria, had the privilege of serving with him in the state district, and then steve latourette as well. as i like to call him, stevie

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wonder austria and stever wonder latourette. both great guys who have served their districts with the kind of commitment that you want in a representative. and then finally my good friend, and we use that term a lot around here, but in this situation it's actually true. dennis kucinich is a good friend. we have had the privilege of working on a subcommittee together. i've said this back home in our district, there's no secret that i'm a pretty conservative guy and dennis is not a very conservative guy. and yet i tell people that we're good friends and here is a guy who truly comes to this process with this idea, get your best hole, take your best shot, fight for the things you believe in. avent that's the way this pro-- and the that drble and that's the way this process should work, that's the way representatives should behave and dennis' done that as good as anybody and i respect that tremendously. we're losing five wonderful people but they're going to continue to do great things for our state and continue in some form of public service, i'm sure. so i want to say thank you and best of luck.

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mr. tiberi: the next gentleman is not a member of the ohio delegation, but an honorary member of the ohio delegation. i certainly enjoy working with him on the ways and means committee. he's a delightful man to work with. the former chairman of the ways and means committee, mr. rangel, is recognized. mr. rangel: thank you for this courtesy and i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. . mr. rangel: i thank you for this courtesy. we've got ms. betty sutton on our side and mr. dennis kucinich. i remember when mr. latourette was on the floor and he demonstrated his friendship in a way that members on both sides will never forget and mr.

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austria is leaving. one of the main reasons why i did come to the floor was because of mrs. schmidt. when i heard she was defeet, they told me her opponent said i endorsed her and that's why she lost the race. i want to make it clear that while i did not support her politically, i would support the lady she has been, kind and gentle. mrs. schmidt has managed to disagree with so many of the differences we have in policy and yet the first thing that you would ever see on her face is a smile, asking, how are you feeling? and having a genuine concern about that. and i personally will miss you and miss the greetings we had

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for each other, sharing each other's family experiences and it's really a classic example of showing what this great body used to be, and what it can become when people can just take a few minutes and realize that we may all come from different political philosophies but we are still brothers and sisters and children of god and i also want to thank the judge for giving me this opportunity to speak to the great buckeye delegation. thank you so much. >> i'd like to -- mr. tiberi: i want to recognize the gentleman from

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pennsylvania. >> i'd like to recognize the members of the ohio tell gation, mr. steve austria, he's become a good friend a tireless advocate for ohio and his district but even more important an advocate for wright patterson air force base , and he also fought to keep cc -- kc-135 at the air force base and the c-127 at the base in mansfield. that's not important only for chicago but for security. mr. renacci: the next individual, den necessary kucinich, who has been a true stewart for ohio. while he don't agree on some of the issues, i've always considered dennis a close friend. he's often offered to help me over the past two years when it

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comes to northeast ohio. i've genuinely enjoyed our discussions traveling back and forth from washington, d.c. to cleveland. i will miss serving with dennis and wish him the best of luck going forward. congresswoman schmitt, when i got here two years ago, was someone i knew i could turn to. she's been a great leader for her dict and someone who has stepped up when it comes to energy issues in the ohio delegation, specifically on re-enriching uranium. our navy relies on uranium and jean made it a point to fight for a domestic source to power aircraft carriers and submarines. without a reliable source of fuel, the navy wouldn't be able to protect the homeland or fight abroad but not only that, jean has been a voice of fiscal

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responsibility in her time in congress and i wish her the best going forward. my colleague betty sutton, i want to thank her for her service to ohio and the nation. we had a hard fought and extremely competitive campaign. throughout it, she maintained a level of professionalism and integrity not often seen in american politics. i want to thank her for her service and i wish her the best of work with her future endeavors. last but not least, my friend steve latourette who has been a friend, a guide, a trusted confidant and someone who i have looked to as a mentor. he and i both strongly supported a couple of issues, development of fuel cell technology through the solid state energy conversion alliance program, whose technology will increase the efficient use of the nation's natural resources, reduce dependence on foreign oil and enhance energy security. i'll miss working alongside him on this issue.

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he's always been available if needed for advice or even as a sounding board. his answers have always represented what he believes to be best for me regardless of his own position on an issue. for that, i was really appreciative. and the rest of congress, we're losing an intelligent, thoughtful, highly motivated public servant, one who always put hs his constituents first. while it's sad to see him go, i win him luck in his future endeavors and thank him sincerely for his 18 years of service to ohio and america. i yield back. mr. tiberi: it's a pleasure to recognize the dean of our delegation, ms. kaptur. ms. kaptur: thank you for spearheading this special order to honor those in our delegation who served with us so honorably. i was reflecting and listening

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to our colleagues that with the departure of these wonderful, wonderful americans who call ohio their home, ohio will lose over half a century of seniority as they move on to other pursuits. on top of the seniority that was lost when dave hobson and lue stokes retired, we have a rebuilding job to do in ohio to gain footing here and to make sure that the needs of ohio are met. so as these very able ohioans leave they take with them great knowledge, great dexterity in this institution, but we have to be conscious of our added responsibility as they leave. i want to say to my two sisters, to betty sut -- betty sutton who has been a true champion on the middle class during her six years of service

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here, without question, her voice has been heard and will be heard again. she's dedicated her life to public service and the betterment of the lives of ohioans and all americans. what makes her service particularly poignant, i think, she's a highly educated woman but she's very, very proud of her working class roots, her blue collar roots. and it's not surprising that she was a tireless advocate for working men and women in her service here. the cash for clunkers legislation that gai our economy a much needed shot in the arm was championed by her and at every turn she fought for her convictions that everyone should have access to work, to health care, that we had to grow our economy and create jobs so the middle class could be strengthened and these who wanned to get into it would have that ladder of opportunity up. she always kept our nation's servicemen and women preeminent

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in her mind and i can tell you i will miss her so very, very much. congresswoman jean schmidt who i'm glad is on the floor with us tonight, was first elected in 2005 and has been an absolutely totally dedicated representative to her district and to our state and to the country. i've admired her dedication and her ability to reach across the aisle. i have admired very much her work on new energy systems in all sectors, not picking any favorites necessarily but trying to help america meet its chief strategic vulnerability, and that is our continued reliance on imported sources of energy. i know how hard she fought for our troops both here as a member, back home, always recognizing their contributions to our country and i will miss her. i will miss seeing her, i will miss working with her and i obviously wish her on behalf of our side of the delegation the

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very best that life can offer, a very beautiful holiday season and i know we have not heard the last of jean schmidt. i know she has much more to give. to my colleague dennis kucinich from cleveland, we certainly admire his passion and conviction on issues, one doesn't doubt where he stands, when dennis takes a position he believes in it and he believesed in the people he represents and is a sure voice. he has never lost focus on that during his tenure and i know that all of us will be watching as he makes his way forward. i know he'll be active in the political rem if he so chooses. we thank him for his great service to the constituent of ohio as a member of congress but before that in service to the state legislature mayor of cleveland. he's had an ill lust res you

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career and many accomplishments to show for that service. i want to say to steve latourette a personal thank you for the years that we've served together but also for our work on the appropriations committee. the full committee as well as the subcommittee that we share, transportation, housing, and urban go our part of ohio, in fact all of ohio which has more urban areas than any other state in the union, needs the attention of this committee and steve completely dedicated himself to that so honorably. he's been a commonsense congressman, an able partner on the many issues we were able to work on together. we fought against the bank bonuses after wall street clappingsed, worked together to save the auto industry to ensure that auto dealers got a fair deal, saving thousands of jobs and making sure ha that in the end ohio got her fair share. i hope that his work in the future will allow him to be a champion for the greater cleveland area in northeastern

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ohio but for her whole state because of his great accruemen and his abilities to work with people of all persuasions. i know how lake erie and the entire great lakes system has benefited from his years of service. we have to pick up that mantle and car rit -- carry it forward for her. fenally, for steve austria, what a vi joye to work with steve austria, whether it was on wright-pat or the concerns of ohio, such a strong voice for his constituents other the last fur year he is served. i wish he could have served longer. i've enjoyed the opportunities i've had to work with him though not always on shared committees. i want to thank congressman tiberi for bringing us together to pay tribute to the great ohioans, betty sutton, jean schmidt, dennis kucinich, steve austria, and steve latourette.

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i thank you for allowing me to offer my words of appreciation with all of you. i yield back any remaining time to the gentleman. mr. tiberi: i'd like to represent the -- to recognize the gentleman who represents the district that benefits pennsylvania and kentucky, the general, a new member of congress who just got re-elected to a second material. >> i thank you for yielding. as a fledgling new member of congress in january of 2011, i realized right away i had an awful lot to learn and so many of our ohio delegation reached out to me, gave me an arm around the shoulder a nudge on the arm say, hey, we can work these things out. mr. johnson: just hang in there.

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i've got ton know each of our five departing members from the ohio delegation and -- in their own unique way. i remember very early on leading up to the 2010 selection -- election, coming to washington to meet with some folks and it was the first time i met with jean schmidt. jean graciously invited me to her office, we sat down, we talked about issues that are important to the people of her district, her district borders my district, and we have a lot of common interests about that. and we sat for an hour or more and she gave me great insight into the kind of work that i'd be doing and i'm so appreciative of that. after coming to washington, and

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beginning to sit on the foreign affairs committee, i sat right next to jean. i saw her passion. -- her passion for issues around fiscal issues. spending. around the sanctity of human life. around human rights. and i saw how she went about the business of not only representing the people of her district but representing the values that americans stand for and to congresswoman schmitt, i just want to say, jean, it's been a pleasure working with you. i agree we haven't seen the last of you. i've enjoyed spending our days at the bible study on thursday mornings and i wish you the very, very best in your future endeavors and i look forward to seeing you often. .

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to steve austria, steve is another one that reached out. as a 26 1/2-year veteran of the air force, wright patterson air force base is -- it's important to the state of ohio, that is true. but it's important to the air force. it's porch to our nation. -- important to our nation. and i've appreciated the work that steve has done there. steve might not realize this, but he trained many of the staff that i have today. i'm very pleased with the staff that i have here in washington and many of those that serve with me today, serving the sixth district of ohio, came through steve austria's office. and -- where they learned and where they saw the value of hard work and steve austria and i appreciate so much what steve has done for our delegation.

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to dennis kucinich. you know, i had seen dennis many, many times on television prior to being elected myself, seeing the interviews. dennis was a known leader and political figure in the state of ohio and people told me early on , you know, you don't have to agree with everything that dennis says, but one thing you'll find out about dennis is that he loves the people that he represents. and he represents them well. you can learn a lot from dennis kucinich about constituent services. and in the days since i've been here, one thing i've learned about dennis as well is that he is always a gentleman. and no matter what the issue, no matter what the crisis of the

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moment might be, dennis would remain calm, would remain poised and the conversations that we've had, again, even though not necessarily agreeing on the issues, but certainly raising very, very valid points and doing so in a manner that befits the office and i want to thank dennis for that. to congresswoman betty sutton, i did not get a chance to work with betty that often. we traveled back and forth on the same flights every now and then. back and forth to ohio. we served on natural resources together but not on the same subcommittee. so i did not get a chance to spend an awful lot of time with betty, but like so many of the other comments that you've heard , she represented her district well, she did it in a very profession al-manar and i want to thank her for her many years

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of service -- professional manner and i want to thank her for her many years of service. steve latourette. what can you really say about steve latourette? i never once went to steve and asked him a question that he said, hey, can you come back and see me later? i don't have time. he was always willing to stop what he was doing and say, what can i do to help? what do you need to talk about? and no matter what the issue, you could always count on steve latourette being a voice of reason and i had, from time to time throughout my air force career, those rare leaders who could see beneath the fog and the friction of the battle to see clearly what the issues were. steve latourette possesses that ability. he took me under his wing, he shared with me his wealth of knowledge about the legislative

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process. helped guide me through some really difficult issues here on the floor. he's so very well respected. one thing i admire most about steve is it's so obvious that he is so respected by both sides of the aisle. that's a lesson that i think many of us could learn and take home and i can assure you that steve latourette is going to be missed. i wish all of our departing members from ohio god speed, many blessings and i've enjoyed serving with each and every one of you. with that i yield back. mr. tiberi: thank you. it's a real pleasure to recognize the gentlelady who represents the bulk of cleveland and soon akron and some of summit county as well, congresswoman fudge, a neighbor to mr. rat receipt. -- mr. latourette. ms. fudge: thank you very much.

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i rise to pay tribute to my faithive ohio colleagues who will be leaving our ranks -- faithful ohio colleagues who will be leaving our ranks at the ends of this congress. all will be missed by our delegation. at the beginning of 2011 i pulled together, along with my friend, mr. ren as iy, our delegation for dinner. this experience showed everyone who attended that we can work and play together despite our party affiliations. and this isn't true of all delegations. simply put, it is because of the people who make up the ohio delegation. those departing will be deeply missed. i will miss their collective experience, their outstanding wit and unrifled passion in serving the people -- unrivaled passion in serving the people of ohio. their departure will truly be a loss to the region, our state and the nation. dennis kucinich is one of the most enduring public servants in cleveland history. from city council to what we

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used to call boy mayor to member of congress. dennis has represented the city of cleveland and its citizens with undeniable zeal and passion. first elected to congress in 1996, dennis kucinich is the kind of fighter you want on your team. be it fighting for labor rights or against the wars in iraq and afghanistan, he left his mark being fiery, outspoken and incorruptble. and the city of cleveland loves him for it. dennis was proud to champion liberal causes even when being liberal wasn't popular. is he bright and unflapble in his convictions. traits that earned him admiration from citizens throughout the nation, congress will not be the same without him. betty sutton is a leader who has and will undoubtedly continue to make a difference in northeast ohio. she ran for city council during her first year of law school and won. she is the youngest woman to ever serve in the ohio state house. she fought hard for the middle class by representing unions and

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their members as a labor attorney. betty played a critical role in the passage of the nation's health care reform bill. she championed cash for clunkers program, helping thousands of americans afford new cars. helping to revive the economy with this successful program. betty has been unwavering in her support of america's veterans of all generations. notably she always found time in her schedule to greet world war ii veterans from ohio visiting our nation's capitol. betty's congressional service to ohio and the nation will be missed. steve latourette. july 30, 2012, was not only a sad day for the state of ohio and the ohio delegation, but it was a sad day for all reasonable, level-headed americans. july 30 marked the day steve latourette, my good friend, announced his retirement from congress. steve is and always will be a champion for all of northeast ohio. the impact he made on his

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district and the state cannot be disputed. he is hardworking and easy to work with. steve is a master of bipartisanship. he wrote the book on working across the aisle. he and i recently introduced the restore our neighborhoods act and we are working together to ensure this bill is included in an end of the year bill. we need more members of congress like steve. he is one of the few members i could always rely on to be objective. he was one of only seven house republicans to vote against defunding n.p.r. he was only one of two house republicans who voted against holding attorney generic holder in contempt of congress. doctor general err -- generic holder -- general eric holder in contempt of congress.

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jean schmidt. to be the first woman elected to represent southern ohio and congress. quite a feat. and to be a grandmother and still run marathons is something that i don't know that anyone else could do. although we have not always agreed on policy, we can agree on the importance of propromoting female athletes and women in general and we agree on family values. jean understands the importance of representing all of the people and all of the parts of her district. we will miss her kindness and her sincerity. good luck, my friend. and to steve austria, the one of the five that i did not get an opportunity to know very well, but i have watched him. he has an impressive track record. he served both in the state house and the senate, serving as the majority whip in the senate. he was the first -- he was the first generation filipino to become a congressman. steve quickly shot up the ranks to serve on the appropriations

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committee and helped bring much-needed funding to the state of ohio and to our military installments. he is a principled man, deciding not to run for a third term because he did not want to leave his beaver creek home of 20 years. as a result of redistricting. and as i have watched him, i know him to be a gentleman. you can tell by a person's demeanor what kind of person it is and he always carries himself with dignity and respect and i am sorry that i did not get the opportunity to know you better. and i close by saying this house is better and stronger because all of you served here. i yield back. mr. tiberi: it's a real pleasure to introduce that gentleman that you were just speaking of, congresswoman fudge, one of the five members who will not be back with us next year, mr. steve austria. who i had the pleasure of having a district next to. the gentleman is recognized. mr. austria: i thank the gentleman for yielding and thank you, mr. speaker. i want to first thank the ohio

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delegation for taking time this evening to recognize the departing members of the ohio delegation. and to those members on both sides of the aisle who have supported me and helped me throughout my four years of congress, i thank you. to those departing members, for your service, your commitment to the buckeye state, you will be missed. you've done a great job and i've had the distinct opportunity towork with maybe of you -- to work with many of you in the state legislature as well as in congress and i thank you for your service. and especially those members who have given me advice and helped me and supported me through this last year. as the members that are here on the floor today know and many of the folks back in ohio, the seventh congressional district that i represent was eliminated with redistricting. this has been a tough year. and to those members that have given me advice, encouragement and sometimes just a pat on the back to keep going through these challenging times, i thank you for that and your friendship will always be remembered.

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you know, it is truly an honor and a privilege to serve in congress. and to represent the eight counties and the residents of those eight counties that i represent in the seventh congressional district. to be blessed with a family and friends and a great staff who has supported and stayed with me during this past year. to serve in this fine institution with so many good people, and there are good people here in congress. and i will miss serving in congress but the friendships that i have made here in ba and throughout my district will be forever. you know, as my father, who first introduced me to politics and government, my father came to this country from the philippines and he came here to live the american dream. he became a legal citizen, he was so proud of that. he met my mother, they got married, they raised a family, nine kids, now 28 grand kids.

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god bless my mother who is still alive. he started hits own business. he always gave ba back to his community. and he always believed in making this place he called home a better place for his children and grandchildren to live. and i think if he were alive today, and i'm sure he's looking down from heaven somewhere, he'd be very proud of his oldest son that to my knowledge is the first first-generation filipino american to serve in the united states congress. and i'm proud to be part of the asian american community. this has been a job for the past 14 years, having served in the state legislature for 10 years and now in congress for four years, that i've taken very seriously and i've tried to give it my all, 100%. and as i've dedicated my life to. and i want to thank my family for all the sacrifices that they have made to allow me to be the best congressman that i can be. and all the families back home. many members of congress here

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have family members back home that are making tremendous sacrifices and i thank you for those sacrifices to allow the members of congress to serve our government. i also must recognize and thank my staff. i was very blessed when i came to congress to start my service in congress with a great staff that i inherited from my predecessor, congressman dave hobson. most have gone on to bigger and better things but i am also blessed to end my service here with a very dedicated and committed staff who's dedicated in helping our constituents back in our district, whether it be veterans, whether it be seniors, whether it be hardworking americans, having a positive impact on their lives and the loyalty that this staff has given to our district, and a very committed staff both in d.c. and back in the district, and many, and most of the staff, actually, who have stayed with me to the very end. to our staff, to our team, you are the best.

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. to the 111th congress, the freshman class i came in with, in particular our republican members of the freshman class, i want to thank you for your service and the friendship and support we've had throughout the years. i came in in 2008, it was a tough year for republicans. i was the only republican in ohio to win an open seat. in 2010, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle experienced the same thing. we had a small republican class that came in, 2 members, but it was a very talented class that showed great leadership, very vibrant. i believe they'll be part of the future of this congress as far as leadership. it was a great honor to be elected by my republican peers as our class president. the 111th class of congress, freshman class, is a special group of friends on both sides of the aisle that will be

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remembered forever and finally, mr. speaker, i want to pay tribute to the ohio seventh congressional district that i've had the honor to represent the last four years. as i mentioned, the district was eliminated because of redistricting in ohio but it's a district with great history and great integrity. it's had great leaders, been represented by leaders like congressman dave hobson, known as uncle dave here on the hill and back home for the great work he's tone here and in the state of ohio. by former senator and now attorney general matt dewine. congressman bud brown and joyce brown and his father, clarence brown, who also served in the united states congress. the list gos on and on. the -- to follow these great leaders, to have the opportunity to serve behind my mentors, has been a great honor. you know, i often will walk, when i'm here in washington,

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walk through the halls of the capitol at night when there's very few people around. i can tell you the history, the tradition, the integrity of this capitol is still there. and it speaks to you at night. often as i walk through the halls of the capitol or traveling throughout the district, folks will come up to me and remind me that when one door closes, another opens. and that god has a plan for all of us. as i begin the next chapter of my life with my wife of 26 years, eileen, and our three boys, brian, kevin and eric, i want to take this great experience, the knowledge, the memories from here in congress with me in the future. and i always will remember the advice my father gave to me when i first ran for my first office nearly 25 years ago, local precinct, county central

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committee, that is always do the right thing. to new members who are here, i encourage you to continue to do the right thing. to members of the ohio delegation, never forget our men and women who are serving in our military and the veterans, and the sacrifices they are make and continue to make for our country and for our freedom. may god bless this great country, it's been a privethroge serve you in congress, thank you and for the last time, i yield back the balance of my time. thank you. mr. tiberi: thank you, steve austin rey, it's been a pleasure working with you. i got to know steve when he came to the ohio legislature. i have in the ohio house, he soon left and went to the ohio senate and he joined us here in 2008. we always used to joke around that steve austria would be a heck of a lot less maintenance than dave hobson, his

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predecessor and he was. you've been a great member of the appropriations committee. you have continued to serve the people of ohio well. you had a great career in the ohio senate and helped pass some pretty critical legislation, including the adam walsh child protection safety act. so we wish you well. we wish you, your wife and three boys such success in the future. it's a real pleasure to introduce another departing member, who also was in the legislature before she came here. unfortunately, i didn't have an opportunity to serve with her. she came just as i was leaving. when i think of jean schmidt, as we said before, i think of her faith and i think of marathons because she is an amazing marathon runner. she just completed her 97th marathon in october.

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and she is obviously a really proud grandma to two young grandsons. it's a pleasure to recognize the gentlelady from southwestern ohio. mrs. schmidt: thank you, mr. speaker, thank you, congressman tiberi, my good friend from central ohio. i want to say good-bye not just to this chamber but to be the -- but to the good friends leaving with me betty sutton from northern ohio. politically dewe disagree on just about everything. but we also have something very common together. softball. she, like i, joined an all-female softball team and she is a good player. she can throw the ball from third to first without having it hop in tweefpble her tenacity helped us not lose as readily as we usually do. when we play the women of the press.

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but betty has fought tirelessly for her district and she has represented it well and she will be missed. dennis kucinich. you know a lot has been said about dennis. he's a man of conviction. and he's a man that's not afraid to be a voice in the wilderness. and all too often, we don't agree with dennis. but we always understood where his passion comes from. and it comes from his deep faith and the fact that he realy believes in america just as the rest of us do. but on a personal note, dennis has become a good friend of mine. we share a deep conviction about obesity in our nation and ways to conquer it. and who knows, maybe on the outside, we will work together to try to find solutions to that. to steve austria, who just stood at this podium. i got to know steve in the state legislature. while we didn't really work together on bill well, actually

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went to arizona to watch ohio state win its national championship and it was there that i realy got to know him and his wife on a personal level. it was there he shared with me his dream to one day serve in this congress. i'm so glad he was able to let that dream come true. to my good friend steve latourette. when you come as a special election you don't get this orientation that people get when they come as a class. you get elected and you're thrown on the floor and you're there to vote. and i was put on this committee called transportation and i didn't know a whole lot about it but steve latourette shepherded me through it. with not -- but not just on that but other issues critical to ohio and critical to our nation he gave me great advice. he was a wonderful mentor and he will be missed in this body. you know, i don't know if this is going to be any good-bye speech or not but i want to say

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what an honor it's been to serve in congress. i came from a background where i truly represent the american dream. my father grew up in poverty he didn't have an education. but he believed in himself and he believed in hard work. and he married a woman with a college education. unheard of for a man of that background. together they instilled in me a couple of really wonderful values. the first is to love god. the second is to love your country. the third is to believe in yourself because we are americans and as americans, we cannot just dream something but work hard to make that a reality. i never thought that i would serve in this wonderful body but through a special election i was able to come here. and it has been a privilege to represent the second district of ohio. i truly believe it is the best

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district in the nation because of its diversity. one of the communities i represent, one they have wealthiest in the country. several others are the poorest. but the fabric that weaves through the ohio river valley is one that shows me that these people, whether they're rich or poor are deep, loving people of not just america but of our god. we are a community that believes in the sanctity of life. we are a community that believes in the right to carry. we are a community that believes in fiscal responsibility. and it would -- and it was easy for me to carry that message here because like so many people in the second congressional district, i believe in those things too. parting is sweet sorrow. and nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. but i can tell you this,

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tomorrow there will be people here, championing the cause of america and the american spirit. and i only hope that we are blessed as a nation to continue to be the bea con of hope and freedom in the world. toward that end, i wish all of my departing members and all of those coming in and all of those that are remaining, god speed. god bless you. and god bless the united states of america. mr. tiberi: thank you, jean. we wish you and peter well in the next chapter. five departing ohioans and i get to go last. it's -- it's been an honor to serve with all five of them. they leave a big void, mr. speaker. steve austria, jean schmidt, betty sutton, much has been said about all of these five. i actually knew betty before i

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knew the other four. she and i were part of the freshman class of the ohio house of representatives in 1992 and we served eight years together in the ohio house. obviously different political parties, but you knew right away that betty was bright, tenacious, she was a fighter for her beliefs. we rarely agreed on issues and we got to see each other again the next time when she got elected in 2006 to replace congressman brown who was elected to the senate. i know her career is not over. it began in barberton, the city council, and then eight years she served in the house. i know she'll continue to serve in come exasstism i wish her and her husband doug the best as they move on to the next chapter of their life. dennis kucinich.

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i first knew dennis, he didn't know me, when i was growing -- when he was mayor of cleveland and i was groying up in columbus. i still call him mayor today. i got to know him when he was in the legislature of the ohio senate and he was in the -- i was in the ohio house. i got to know him better when i was elected here and obviously a lot has been said about dennis. a lot has been said about dennis, about his passion. his -- he softball a man who will continue his mission in other way he ran for president. he wasn't shy about it. he has strong beliefs, beliefs that are different than mine but again, someone you can call a friend. and finally, last but not least, the man who has a

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different quality than the rest of the four and what i mean by that is, he was the only one of the five who wasn't a legislator before he came to congress. he was a prosecutor. steve latourette. ironically if you talk to members of the house, they would say he was a legislator's legislator. even though he was never a legislator before he got here. which is amazing. and steve latourette is a contrast in so many different ways. you heard so much about him here tonight in terms of the work he did in such a bipartisan way. but he could be as partisan as think came. in fact, as i think of memories down on the floor, back in, i don't know what year it was, 2007 or 2008, maybe it was 2009 or 2010, steve came